This is not a compromise - it's a capitulation by our Prime Minister

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Theresa May announces the cabinet's agreement to back her Brexit proposalCredit:
Victoria Jones/PA Wire

The draft agreement fails the Lancaster House tests set by Mrs May. It has no chance in the Commons

The silence in Brussels is revealing. If the draft Withdrawal Agreement had included wins for Britain, and compromises by the Europeans, the Commission would have been spinning furiously. It knows it has won hands down, so it feels no need to reassure its own audiences.

Of course, British compromises were inevitable. But the proposal presented to Cabinet is a capitulation. Worse, it is a capitulation not only to Brussels, but to the fears of the British negotiators themselves, who have shown by their actions that they never believed Brexit can be a success.